Actress Natalie Portman said in a recent interview that the Hollywood industry affected her personal development.
Portman admitted that “being sexualized as a child” made her “afraid” during Monday’s episode of Dax Shephard’s podcast, “Armchair Expert.”
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— Armchair Expert Podcast (@ArmchairExpPod) December 7, 2020
“Being sexualized as a child took away from my own sexuality because it made me afraid,” Portman told Shephard.
Portman said she cultivated a “prude” and “conservative” persona as she got older as a way to make her feel “safe.” (RELATED: Natalie Portman’s Stalker Is Facing Charges After Violating The Restraining Order Against Him)
“So many people had this impression of me that I was super-serious and prude and conservative as I got older,” Portman told Shephard. “I consciously cultivated that because it was a way to make me feel safe. If someone respects you, they’re not going to objectify you.”
Portman revealed she turned down the role of “Lolita” because she didn’t want to be seen the way she would have been portrayed in the movie in real life. The movie was based on Vladimir Nabokov’s 1955 book about a 55-year-old man becoming sexually involved with a 12-year-old girl.
“At that age you do have your own sexuality, and you do have your own desire and you do want to explore things… but you don’t feel safe necessarily,” Portman said. “You build these fortresses.”
Portman also said she began to turn down roles and would refuse to do scenes involving kissing or sex as a mode of self-defense.